Method for displaying a hierarchically structure list and associated display unit

ABSTRACT

A method is provided for displaying at least one hierarchically structured list having at least two levels, and a display unit for such a method is also provided, in which the user is offered an optimum overview in the display of hierarchically structured lists having at least two levels. In the display of one or more of the subordinate elements of the list, the respective superordinate element of the list associated with the subordinate element of the list is also always displayed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for displaying at least onehierarchically structured list having at least two levels, which has atleast one hierarchical level of superordinate entries or elements, andat least one hierarchical level of subordinate entries or elements, atleast one subordinate element being associated with at least onesuperordinate element. The present invention further relates to adisplay unit for such a method.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The difficulty in displaying or representing long, hierarchicallystructured lists may be encountered nowadays in many technical fields,such as for the display of hierarchically structured lists on thedisplay element of a computer system or on a navigation display. In thisregard, a navigation system is used as an example below.

In a navigation system for displaying the results of a route search, alist of names of the streets included in the route may be generated. Inaddition to the actual street names (shown in Roman numerals in FIG. 1),the entries may also contain any existing street numbers (shown inArabic numerals in FIG. 1) and the town (shown in capital letters inFIG. 1) to which the streets belong (see FIG. 1).

Although the “flat” or non-hierarchical display shown in FIG. 1 may beused in this form, it may be considered generally impracticable and notclear. For greater practicability and better clarity, entries andelements which are associated with a specific town (shown in capitalletters in FIGS. 1 and 2) or a specific street number (shown in Arabicnumerals in FIGS. 1 and 2) may be combined and hierarchically displayed,as illustrated in FIG. 2.

This form of the tree display shown as an example in FIG. 2 may offerthe user greater practicability and better clarity, since the variousentries and elements are displayed in a weighted manner according totheir importance. It may also be possible to combine the partial listscreated, also referred to below as “subordinate lists” or “sublists,”and to display them using only the superordinate entry or thesuperordinate element.

Thus, for example, the streets within towns may be concealed so that theroute list appears as a list of towns with overland road connections(see FIG. 3). Such a display may be practical, for example, for longcross-country trips for which the individual streets in the towns may beof no concern.

To show an existing possibility for expanding a concealed branch of thehierarchically structured list, a square with a plus sign has beenestablished. Accordingly, a square with a minus sign is displayed forthe existing possibility of collapsing a subordinate list or sublist.One such example is the route list displaying all towns and streetsincluding street numbers, as shown in FIG. 4.

In addition to these various preset lists in which only certain portionsare shown or concealed, other configurations may also be possible. Thus,after interaction with the user it may be possible to expand somesublists and to combine others (see FIG. 5).

The possibility of combining or collapsing sublists, or also expandingthese sublists, is intended to help the user obtain a better overview ofthe information provided. This may be important since the displaypossibilities in navigation devices for an arrangement for transport,for example, may be limited by a small display. Thus, some conventionalnavigation devices, even those for a high-end arrangement for transport,may provide, for example, only six lines for displaying the list ofstreet names.

Using an example of a display having ten lines, the hierarchicallystructured list and the corresponding display window are shown in FIGS.6A and 6B. The entries and elements in boldface in FIGS. 6A and 6Bappear in the display window, whereas the entries and elements inlighter typeface located outside the display window are used only forbetter understanding of the relationships, but are not visible to theuser in the display window.

However, as seen from a comparison of FIGS. 7A and 7B, there may be anundesired feature for hierarchically structured lists, in that forspecific regions it may not be possible to determine a directassociation of the street name with the street number or with the town,or to determine a direct association of the street number with the town.This effect may appear, for example, in the middle of long subordinatelists.

In this case, the user may only obtain the sought information byscrolling through the hierarchically structured list. For very longlists this procedure may be undesired and impracticable because theactual entry or element of interest may be lost from the field of visionduring scrolling. Thus, only in relatively few cases may it be possibleto see the relevant entries and elements simultaneously. Thus, usingFIG. 7B as an example, it is not possible to directly determine thatstreet name IX belongs to town B. A direct association may therefore notalways be possible, which may be perceived as unsatisfactory in light ofthe accompanying loss of information.

The display of hierarchically structured lists may generally be affectedby this undesired feature when it is not possible to completely displaythese lists in the display medium (for the most part, it may not bepossible to completely display hierarchically structured lists in thedisplay medium; see FIG. 8A).

An example in the field of computer technology may include the displayof file managers, such as for example in the case of Explorer in theWindows® operating system by Microsoft®. For such applications, it maynot be possible in some cases for the user to, for example, determinewhat the superordinate directory, or even the superordinate directoriesof the files or directories instantaneously shown in the display window,are (see FIG. 8B).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved method of the aforementionedtype, and a display unit related to such an improved example method, sothat the user may be offered an optimum overview in the display ofhierarchically structured lists having at least two levels.

In this regard, attention should be paid in particular to the problem ofthe display on display units, or displays having a limited number oflines. In contrast to the situation illustrated with reference to FIGS.8A and 8B, the present invention may allow the user to appropriatelyassociate the entries and elements on the hierarchically structured listwith the respective superordinate entries and elements at all times.

The present invention may be characterized, for example, by the featurethat for each element displayed, the associated superordinateentry—corresponding to a higher hierarchical level—is visible in thehierarchically structured list. The user may therefore obtain theoverview at all times, even in large, hierarchically structured listssuch as, for example, in the route list of a navigation system or in thedirectory tree of the file manager of an operating system.

In this connection, it may be useful that neither the present method northe present display unit be limited to a specific number of hierarchicallevels, but, rather, also suited for numerous applications havingmultiple hierarchical levels and a correspondingly high informationcontent.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the entriesand elements of subordinate lists—corresponding to a lower hierarchicallevel—may always be unambiguously associated with the superordinateelements, even when these lists are only partially displayed. In thisregard, the user of the present invention may be aware, for example,that the entries and elements superordinate to the subordinate lists arealways visible without further scrolling or shifting of thehierarchically structured list.

In the optimized display of long, hierarchically structured lists, theintent essentially is to display a specific important region. If this isa list having subordinate entries or elements (also referred to assubordinate list or sublist), the associated superordinate entries orelements should also be displayed.

To allow such an optimized display of the subordinate entries orelements simultaneously with the superordinate entries or elements,according to an example embodiment of the present invention the displayregion is subdivided into at least two in a sense virtual (display)regions, namely, the preferably higher-level (display) region fordisplaying the superordinate entries or elements (superordinate displayregion), and the preferably lower-level (display) region for displayingthe sublists themselves, i.e., for displaying the entries or elements ofthe sublists (subordinate display region).

With regard to the structure of the display or representation of thehierarchically structured list, according to one example embodiment ofthe present invention the entries or elements to be displayed are firstaccepted into display lists before these entries or elements are thenshown in the display. The display list of the subordinate entries orelements (list of entries or elements of the sublist or the subordinatedisplay region) may, for example, be formed based on the last entry orelement to be displayed to enable the required superordinate entries orelements to be determined.

For example, for each accepted entry or each accepted element of thesublist the superordinate entries or elements are accepted into thedisplay list of the superordinate entries or elements (list of entriesor elements in the superordinate display region). If an element isentered in the display list of subordinate entries or elements which isalready contained in the display list of superordinate entries orelements, it may be useful to delete this element from the display listof the superordinate entries or elements.

In one example embodiment of the present invention, both lists, i.e.,both the display list for the superordinate entries or elements and thedisplay list for the subordinate entries or elements, are filled withentries or elements until the sum of the entries and elements in bothlists is smaller than, or at a maximum, equal to, the number of usablelines.

After both the display list of the superordinate entries or elements andthe display list of the subordinate entries or elements areappropriately filled, it may be useful for these display lists to besuccessively written into the display unit according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention, using conventional patterns. Forthe display of part of the superordinate entries or elements, an anomalymay be present when the next element to be displayed is not thesubsequent element in the original list. In this case, the blanked outentries or elements must be identified. After the superordinate entriesor elements are displayed, the display list of the subordinate entriesor elements is displayed.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, at leastone separating element, in particular at least one separating line, isprovided between the superordinate (display) region and the subordinate(display) region. The position of this separating element may not bestatic, but, rather, may result from the requirements of the upperdisplay region provided by the superordinate entries or elements.

In other words, the separating element may be shifted so that in thesuperordinate display region it is possible to show all thesuperordinate elements associated with the subordinate elements; i.e.,in the upper display region it is possible to show all superordinateentries or elements for the sublist(s) to be displayed.

In this connection it should be noted that for the entries or elementsin the superordinate list, additional display space may be required fordifferentiating and/or separating the sublists. If the separatingelement, in the form of a separating line in one example embodiment,occupies one line, for example, both the display list for thesuperordinate entries or elements and the display list for thesubordinate entries or elements may be filled with entries or elementsonly until the sum of the entries or elements of both lists issmaller—generally, smaller by one—than the number of usable lines.

One skilled in the art of displaying hierarchically structured lists mayalso be aware of the desired level of verifiability with regard to anexample embodiment of the present invention, in that the verifiabilitymay be present as a fundamental and required condition which may need tobe fulfilled when the example method described here as well as thedisplay unit described here are used.

In the optimized display of hierarchically structured lists of any givenlength, the at least one corresponding superordinate entry or elementmay be visible at any time for the displayed partial lists, alsoreferred to as subordinate lists or sublists, according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention. In this connection, a requiredfeature of the present example method is that portions of the beginningof the sublist(s) are blanked out to enable the superordinate entries orelements to be displayed.

In an example embodiment of the present invention, both the method andthe present display unit may be suited, for example, for displayinghierarchically structured lists on a small display medium, such as thedisplay of a cell phone or the display unit of a navigation systemintegrated into the instrument panel of a means of transport. In anycase, the present example method may be used not only for displayinghierarchically structured lists, such as the list of street names innavigation systems, but also for displaying similar problem cases.

Lastly, the present invention relates to a use of the above-referencedexample method in the display of the entries and/or elements of at leastone in particular software-based route search application of anavigation system, including, for example, a navigation system installedin an arrangement for transport.

Alternatively or in addition thereto, the above-referenced examplemethod may also be used for displaying the entries and/or elements of atleast one file manager, including, for example, at least one displaywindow of a file manager.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a simple, non-hierarchically structured list of streetnames.

FIG. 2 shows a list of street names.

FIG. 3 shows a list of towns with overland road connections.

FIG. 4 shows a route list containing names of towns and street numbers.

FIG. 5 shows a list of street names with partially expanded sublists.

FIG. 6A shows a display of a list of towns with major streets in thedisplay.

FIG. 6B shows the display from 6A with partially expanded sublists.

FIG. 7A shows a display of a partially expanded list of street names inthe display.

FIG. 7B shows the display from 7A with a display shifted downwardcompared to FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8A shows a sublist without a detectable superordinate element(problem case).

FIG. 8B shows subdirectories for a file manager without detectablesuperordinate directories (problem case).

FIG. 9 shows the subdivision of the entire display region, achieved by aseparating element, into a superordinate display region and asubordinate display region.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for the process of determining the entries andelements to be displayed.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for the process of displaying the entries andelements to be displayed.

FIG. 12 shows the entire beginning of a sublist having the superordinateentries and elements in the still unscrolled starting situation.

FIG. 13A shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate elements after the first downward scroll.

FIG. 13B shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 13A, scrolleddownward by one additional element.

FIG. 14A shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate elements after the second downward scroll.

FIG. 14B shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 14A havingthe superordinate element displayed for each element of the displayedsublist.

FIG. 15A shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate elements after the fourth downward scroll.

FIG. 15B shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 15A havingthe superordinate element displayed for each element of the displayedsublist.

FIG. 16A shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate elements after the fifth downward scroll.

FIG. 16B shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate element displayed for each element of the displayedsublist.

FIG. 17A shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 12 having thesuperordinate elements after the fifth downward scroll.

FIG. 17B shows the partially blanked out sublist from FIG. 17A havingthe superordinate element displayed for each element of the displayedsublist.

FIG. 18A shows a first form of display for sublists blanked out at thebeginning.

FIG. 18B shows a second form of display for sublists blanked out at thebeginning.

FIG. 19A shows the list of street names from FIG. 5 having blanked outelements of the list of street names.

FIG. 19B shows the list of street names from FIG. 19A having thesuperordinate element displayed for each element of the displayedsublist.

FIG. 20A shows the subdirectory list provided for a file manager fromFIG. 8B, without identifiable superordinate directories.

FIG. 20B shows the subdirectory list from FIG. 20A having eachsuperordinate directory displayed for each subdirectory.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example method for displaying a list structured in three hierarchicallevels may eliminate undesired features for the display ofhierarchically structured lists having long sublists (subordinate lists,or lists having subordinate entries or elements). An example embodimentof the present invention ensures that the relevant pieces of informationwhich are associated with one another, i.e., pertaining to one another,are simultaneously displayed.

In principle, in the display of long, hierarchically structured lists, aspecific important region should essentially be displayed. If thisinvolves a sublist, the associated subordinate entries and elementsshould also be displayed. To enable this, display region 10 according tothe illustration in FIG. 9 is subdivided into two virtual (display)regions 12, 16, namely, superordinate display region 12 for displayingthe superordinate entries and elements, and subordinate display region16 which is provided for the entries and elements of the subliststhemselves.

The position of a separating element in the form of a separating line 20between superordinate display region 12 and subordinate display region16 is not fixed or static on display unit 100, but, rather, results fromthe requirements of superordinate display region 12 in such a mannerthat it is required to display all superordinate entries and elementsfor the sublists to be displayed in subordinate display region 16 (seeFIG. 9).

With respect to the algorithmic rules for forming the display in displayunit 100, these algorithmic rules may be characterized, for example, bytwo exemplary method steps, namely, determination of the elements to bedisplayed (—>method steps [A.1] through [A.9] in FIG. 10) and display ofthe elements to be displayed (—>method steps [B.1] through [B.8] in FIG.11).

First, the current element is defined as the last element to bedisplayed in the original list (=method step [A.1] in FIG. 10). Then acheck is made as to whether an additional element may be accepted intosubordinate display region 16 (=method step [A.2] in FIG. 10). If thisis not the case (=“−” in FIG. 10), then —clearly separated by separatingline 20 according to FIG. 9 —superordinate display region 12 andsubordinate display region 16 are displayed in display unit 100 (=methodstep [A.9] in FIG. 10).

On the other hand, if an additional element may be accepted intosubordinate display region 16 (=“+” in FIG. 10), this additional elementis accepted as a current element into subordinate display region 16(=method step [A.3] in FIG. 10). A check is subsequently made as towhether the current element is also contained in superordinate displayregion 12 (=method step [A.4] in FIG. 10). If this is the case (=“+” inFIG. 10), the current element is deleted from superordinate displayregion 12 (=method step [A.5] in FIG. 10).

However, if the current element is not also contained in superordinatedisplay region 12 (=“−” in FIG. 10), the at least one superordinateelement is specified as the current element (=method step [A.6] in FIG.10), and the at least one superordinate element specified in method step[A.6] is accepted into superordinate display region 12 (=method step[A.7] in FIG. 10) if this superordinate element is not already containedin superordinate display region 12.

Subsequently, the current element is defined as the next element (viewedbackward) to be displayed in the original list (=method step [A.8] inFIG. 10), and the procedure goes back to the point before method step[A.2]. Depending on the result of the checking procedure in method step[A.2], for a positive result (=“+” in FIG. 10) cycle[A.2]->[A.3]->[A.4]->[A.5] or [A.6]->[A.7]->[A.8]->[A.2] begins again,whereas for a negative result (=“−” in FIG. 10) from the checkingprocedure in method step [A.2], upper and lower display regions 12, 16,namely, superordinate display region 12 and subordinate display region16, separated by separating element 20 are displayed.

For actually displaying the elements to be displayed, first the currentelement is then specified as the first element of superordinate displayregion 12 to be displayed (=method step [B.1] in FIG. 11) and isdisplayed (=method step [B.2] in FIG. 11). A check is then made as towhether an additional element of superordinate display region 12 to bedisplayed is present (method step [B.3] in FIG. 11). If this is not thecase (=“−” in FIG. 11), separating element 20 is displayed (=method step[B.7] in FIG. 11), and then subordinate display region 16 is alsodisplayed (=method step [B.8] in FIG. 11).

On the other hand, if an additional element of superordinate displayregion 12 to be displayed is present (=“+” in FIG. 11) in method step[B.3], a check is then made as to whether the subsequent element ofsuperordinate display region 12 corresponds to the subsequent element ofthe original list (=method step [B.4] in FIG. 11).

If the subsequent element of superordinate display region 12 does notcorrespond to the subsequent element of the original list (=“−” in FIG.11), separating element 20 is then displayed (=method step [B.5] in FIG.11). Otherwise, the current element is defined as the next element ofsuperordinate display region 12 to be displayed (=method step [B.6] inFIG. 11), and the procedure goes back to the point before method step[B.2].

Depending on the result of the checking procedure in method step [B.3],for a positive result (=“+” in FIG. 11) cycle[B.2]->[B.3]->[B.4]->[B.5]->[B.6]->[B.2] begins again, whereas for anegative result (=“−” in FIG. 11) from the checking procedure in methodstep [B.3], both separating element 20 (=method step [B.7] in FIG. 11)and subordinate display region 16=method step [B.8] in FIG. 11) aredisplayed.

With regard to the display of various hierarchically structured lists,it may be determined that the subdivision of display region 10 hasactually occurred, if the hierarchically structured list in displayregion 10 is positioned so that the first element displayed is anelement of the highest hierarchical level, and the respectivesuperordinate entries and elements may be required to be identified forall displayed entries and elements of sublists (see FIG. 12).

By scrolling down through the hierarchically structured list (i.e., byshifting the entries and elements upward), the superordinate entries andelements drop out of display region 10 (see FIG. 13A). In thisconnection, according to FIGS. 9 through 20B, the user is signaled ofthe possibility of scrolling by a solid arrow on the right edge ofdisplay region 10.

Thus, with display unit 100 stationary, a solid arrow in the upper rightcorner of display region 10 indicates that the hierarchically structuredlist displayed may be shifted downward, so that entries and elementspreviously concealed now become visible in display region 10. Similarly,with display unit 100 stationary, a solid arrow in the lower rightcorner of display region 10 indicates that the hierarchically structuredlist displayed may be shifted upward, so that entries and elementspreviously concealed now become visible in display region 10.

The subdivision into two display regions 12, 16, i.e., intosuperordinate display region 12 and subordinate display region 16, isintended to prevent this effect of the superordinate entries andelements “dropping out” of display region 10. To this end, superordinatedisplay region 12 is not affected by the shifting of the sublist, i.e.,by the shifting in subordinate display region 16, in that insuperordinate display region 12 the superordinate entries andelements—and only these—are collected and displayed according to theirparticular hierarchical level.

A separate display region, namely, subordinate display region 16, whichin contrast to conventional displays may be diminished only by displayregion 12 for the superordinate entries and elements, is available forthe sublist to be shifted. Consequently, scrolling down through thehierarchically structured list by one entry or by one element in thecourse of the optimized display of the hierarchically structured listresults in a configuration according to FIG. 13B: for each element ofthe displayed sublist, the associated superordinate element is alsodisplayed.

With the second downward scroll (see FIGS. 14A and 14B), display region12 for the superordinate entries and elements remains the same, sinceall displayed entries and elements of the sublists are associated withthese superordinate entries and elements, so that only the display forthe sublists, i.e., the display in subordinate display region 16, ischanged. In this regard according to FIG. 14B (after the second downwardscroll), it may again be ensured that for each entry or each element ofthe displayed sublist the respective superordinate entry orsuperordinate element is also displayed in display unit 100.

With the next, i.e., the third downward scroll (see FIG. 15A), it may nolonger be possible to display the sublist (corresponding to the third orlower hierarchical level) for element “B-1” (corresponding to the secondor middle hierarchical level). Thus, associated superordinate element“B-1” (corresponding to the second or middle hierarchical level) itselfis no longer permitted to be displayed as well, and is removed fromupper superordinate display region 12 (see FIG. 15B).

However, element “B-2” (corresponding to the second or middlehierarchical level) also belongs to the sublist for superordinateelement “B” (corresponding to the first or upper hierarchical level), sothat in display region 16 for the sublists as well, element “B-2” is atthe top of the associated list containing elements “B-2-I”, “B-2-II”,“B-2-III”, “B-2-IV”, “B-2-V”, and “B-2-VI” (corresponding to the thirdor lower hierarchical level).

Thus, for each element “B-2-I”, “B-2-II”, “B-2-III”, “B-2-IV”, “B-2-V”,and “B-2-VI” (corresponding to the third or lower hierarchical level) ofthe sublist, respective superordinate elements “B” (corresponding to thefirst or upper hierarchical level) and “B-2” (corresponding to thesecond or middle hierarchical level) are recognizable.

With the next, i.e., the fourth downward scroll (see FIG. 16A), there isan anomaly in that element “B-2” is not allowed to appear along with itssuperordinate element “B” in display region 12 for the superordinateelements, since list elements “B-1-I”, “B-1-II”, “B-1-III”, and “B-1-IV”are not displayed before this list element. Thus, element “B-2” shouldbe displayed in an additional display region 14 for superordinateentries and elements to ensure the assignment of elements to the sublist(see FIG. 16B).

An additional separating element in the form of an additional separatingline 22 is provided between this additional superordinate display region14 and subordinate display region 16, so that additional display region14 is enclosed in a sense by first separating line 20 and secondseparating line 22 (see FIG. 16B).

For the configuration according to FIGS. 16A and 16B, it may be clearthat in order to display the separation of display regions 12, 14, 16,an effective display which is as small and compact as possible should befound so that entire available display region 10 is not “used up” justfor the superordinate elements, i.e., for superordinate display region12. Two variants are shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, namely, according toFIG. 17A a variant having interruption points 24 as separating and/orblanking elements, and according to FIG. 17B a variant havinginterruption lines 26 as separating and/or blanking elements.

Both interruption points 24 and interruption lines 26 identify for theuser of display unit 100 that the entries and elements located inbetween are blanked out, so that the subordinate entries or elements donot use up all the available space in display unit 100. Thus, insuperordinate display regions 12, 14 (see FIG. 16B) all thesuperordinate elements associated with the subordinate elements may bedisplayed; i.e., all superordinate elements for the sublists to bedisplayed may be displayed in upper display regions 12, 14.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a slightlysmaller type(face) may be used in display regions 12, 14 forsuperordinate elements to allow the greatest possible number ofhierarchical levels to be displayed. In the unfavorable case, it may berequired to take into account that a separate display region 12, 14 forsuperordinate elements be set up for each of the three hierarchicallevels in the embodiment.

With regard to the exemplary potential application forms of the presentinvention, the list of street names from FIG. 5 (repeated once again forpurposes of comparison in FIG. 18A) is used as an example. An optimizeddisplay according to the teaching of the present invention is shown inFIG. 18B for this previously described example.

In this case, using interruption points 24, portions of the sublist forthe second or middle hierarchical level (street numbers identified asArabic numerals) are blanked out to allow the street names (=Romannumerals corresponding to the third or lower hierarchical level) and thestreet numbers (=Arabic numerals corresponding to the second or middlehierarchical level) to be associated with names of towns (letter Bcorresponding the first or upper hierarchical level).

In addition, in FIG. 19B portions of the sublist for the third or lowerhierarchical level (street names identified as Roman numerals) areblanked out to allow the street names (=Roman numerals) to be associatedwith the street number (=Arabic numeral “2” corresponding to the secondor middle hierarchical level).

Another example application form of the present invention is to be seenin the use for a display window of a file manager from FIG. 8B (repeatedonce again for purposes of comparison in FIG. 20A). The ability toassociate directory “system32” to the superordinate directories withouttedious scrolling is shown in the optimized display in FIG. 20B.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   100 Display unit-   10 Entire display region-   12 First superordinate display region-   14 Second superordinate display region-   16 Subordinate display region-   20 First separating and/or blanking element, in particular a first    separating line-   22 Second separating and/or blanking element, in particular a second    separating line-   24 Separating and/or blanking element, in particular an interruption    point-   26 Separating and/or blanking element, in particular an interruption    line

1. A computer-implemented method for displaying at least onehierarchically structured list having at least two levels including atleast one hierarchical level of superordinate elements and at least onehierarchical level of subordinate elements, at least one subordinateelement being associated with at least one superordinate element, themethod comprising: (A) determining, by a computer processor,superordinate elements and subordinate elements to be displayed; (B)subdividing, by the processor, a display region of a display device intoat least one superordinate display region and at least one subordinatedisplay region; (C) displaying, by the processor, at least onesubordinate element in the subordinate display region; and (D)displaying, in the superordinate display region and by the processor, arespective superordinate element associated with the displayed at leastone subordinate element; wherein the method step (A) for determiningsuperordinate elements and subordinate elements to be displayed includesthe following sub-steps: [A.1] defining a current element as a lastelement in an original list to be displayed, and proceeding to step[A.2]; [A.2] checking whether an additional element is acceptable in thesubordinate display region, wherein: if an additional element isacceptable in the subordinate display region, then proceeding to step[A.3]; and if no additional element is acceptable in the subordinatedisplay region, then proceeding to step [A.9]; [A.3] accepting thecurrent element into the subordinate display region, and proceeding tostep [A.4]; [A.4] checking whether the current element is also containedin the superordinate display region, wherein: if the current element isalso contained in the superordinate display region, then proceeding tostep [A.5]; and if the current element is not also contained in thesuperordinate display region, then proceeding to step [A.6]; [A.5]deleting the current element from the superordinate display region, andproceeding to step [A.8]; [A.6] specifying the at least onesuperordinate element as the current element, and proceeding to step[A.7]; [A.7] accepting the at least one superordinate element specifiedin step [A.6] into the superordinate display region if the at least onesuperordinate element is not yet contained in the superordinate displayregion, and proceeding to step [A.8]; [A.8] defining the current elementas the next element to be displayed in the original list, and proceedingto step [A.2]; and [A.9] displaying the superordinate display region andthe subordinate display region.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein aplurality of subordinate elements are associated with the respectivesuperordinate element, and wherein at least one subordinate element isblanked out of the subordinate display region.
 3. The method claim 2,wherein at least one subordinate element at the beginning of thesubordinate display region is blanked out.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein a separating line separates the superordinate display region andthe subordinate display region, the method further comprising: shiftingat least one of the separating line and a blanking element between thesuperordinate display region and the subordinate display region so thatall superordinate elements associated with the displayed subordinateelements are displayed in the superordinate display region.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein a separating line separates the superordinatedisplay region and the subordinate display region, the method furthercomprising: shifting at least one of the separating line and a blankingelement between the superordinate display region and the subordinatedisplay region so that all superordinate elements associated with thedisplayed subordinate elements are displayed in the superordinatedisplay region.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of: thedisplay device is of a cell phone; the method is performed duringexecution of a software-based route search application of a navigationsystem; and the method is performed during execution of a file managerapplication.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performedduring execution of a software-based route search application of anavigation system installed in a vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one subordinate element and the respectivesuperordinate element associated with the subordinate element aredisplayed in a display window of a file manager.
 9. Acomputer-implemented method for displaying at least one hierarchicallystructured list having at least two levels including at least onehierarchical level of superordinate elements and at least onehierarchical level of subordinate elements, at least one subordinateelement being associated with at least one superordinate element, themethod comprising: (A) determining, by a computer processor,superordinate elements and subordinate elements to be displayed; (B)subdividing, by the processor, a display region of a display device intoat least one superordinate display region and at least one subordinatedisplay region; and (C) displaying by the processor: at least onesubordinate element in the subordinate display region; and in thesuperordinate display region, a respective superordinate elementassociated with the displayed at least one subordinate element; whereinthe method step (C) for displaying the at least one subordinate elementand the respective superordinate element includes the followingsub-steps: [C.1] defining a current element as a first element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.2] displaying the current element, and proceeding to step[C.3]; [C.3] checking whether an additional element of the superordinatedisplay region to be displayed is present, wherein: if an additionalelement of the superordinate display region to be displayed is present,then proceeding to step [C.4]; and if no additional element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed is present, then proceedingto step [C.7]; [C.4] checking whether subsequent element of thesuperordinate display region corresponds to subsequent element of anoriginal list, wherein: if the subsequent element of the superordinatedisplay region corresponds to the subsequent element of the originallist, then proceeding to step [C.6]; and if the subsequent element ofthe superordinate display region does not correspond to the subsequentelement of the original list, then proceeding to step [C.5]; [C.5]displaying at least one separating line that separates the superordinatedisplay region and the subordinate display region, and proceeding tostep [C.6]; [C.6] defining the current element as the next element ofthe superordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.7] displaying the at least one separating line and proceedingto step [C.8]; and [C.8] displaying the subordinate display region. 10.A cellular phone, comprising: at least one display unit; and a computerprocessor configured to display in the at least on display unit at leastone hierarchically structured list having at least two levels includingat least one hierarchical level of superordinate elements and at leastone hierarchical level of subordinate elements, at least one subordinateelement being associated with at least one superordinate element, byperforming the following steps: (A) determining superordinate elementsand subordinate elements to be displayed; (B) subdividing a displayregion of the at least one display unit into at least one superordinatedisplay region and at least one subordinate display region; anddisplaying at least one subordinate element in the subordinate displayregion, and displaying, in the superordinate display region, arespective superordinate element associated with the displayed at leastone subordinate element; wherein step (A) for determining superordinateelements and subordinate elements to be displayed includes the followingsub-steps: [A.1] defining a current element as a last element in anoriginal list to be displayed, and proceeding to step [A.2]; [A.2]checking whether an additional element is acceptable in the subordinatedisplay region, wherein: if an additional element is acceptable in thesubordinate display region, then proceeding to step [A.3]; and if noadditional element is acceptable in the subordinate display region, thenproceeding to step [A.9]; [A.3] accepting the current element into thesubordinate display region, and proceeding to step [A.4]; [A.4] checkingwhether the current element is also contained in the superordinatedisplay region, wherein: if the current element is also contained in thesuperordinate display region, then proceeding to step [A.5]; and if thecurrent element is not also contained in the superordinate displayregion, then proceeding to step [A.6]; [A.5] deleting the currentelement from the superordinate display region, and proceeding to step[A.8]; [A.6] specifying the at least one superordinate element as thecurrent element, and proceeding to step [A.7]; [A.7] accepting the atleast one superordinate element specified in step [A.6] into thesuperordinate display region if the at least one superordinate elementis not yet contained in the superordinate display region, and proceedingto step [A.8]; [A.8] defining the current element as the next element tobe displayed in the original list, and proceeding to step [A.2] and[A.9] displaying the superordinate display region and the subordinatedisplay region.
 11. The cellular phone of claim 10, wherein step (C) fordisplaying the at least one subordinate element and the respectivesuperordinate element includes the following sub-steps: [C.1] definingthe current element as a first element of the superordinate displayregion to be displayed, and proceeding to step [C.2]; [C.2] displayingthe current element, and proceeding to step [C.3]; [C.3] checkingwhether an additional element of the superordinate display region to bedisplayed is present, wherein: if an additional element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed is present, then proceedingto step [C.4]; and if no additional element of the superordinate displayregion to be displayed is present, then proceeding to step [C.7]; [C.4]checking whether a subsequent element of the superordinate displayregion corresponds to a subsequent element of the original list,wherein: if the subsequent element of the superordinate display regioncorresponds to the subsequent element of the original list, thenproceeding to step [C.6]; and if the subsequent element of thesuperordinate display region does not correspond to the subsequentelement of the original list, then proceeding to step [C.5]; [C.5]displaying at least one separating line that separates the superordinatedisplay region and the subordinate display region, and proceeding tostep [C.6]; [C.6] defining the current element as the next element ofthe superordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.7] displaying the at least one separating line and proceedingto step [C.8]; and [C.8] displaying the subordinate display region. 12.A navigation system, comprising: at least one display unit; and acomputer processor configured to display in the at least on display unitat least one hierarchically structured list having at least two levelsincluding at least one hierarchical level of superordinate elements andat least one hierarchical level of subordinate elements, at least onesubordinate element being associated with at least one superordinateelement, by performing the following steps: (A) determiningsuperordinate elements and subordinate elements to be displayed; (B)subdividing a display region of the at least one display unit into atleast one superordinate display region and at least one subordinatedisplay region; and (C) displaying at least one subordinate element inthe subordinate display region, and displaying, in the superordinatedisplay region, a respective superordinate element associated with thedisplayed at least one subordinate element; wherein step (A) fordetermining superordinate elements and subordinate elements to bedisplayed includes the following sub-steps: [A.1] defining a currentelement as a last element in an original list to be displayed, andproceeding to step [A.2]; [A.2] checking whether an additional elementis acceptable in the subordinate display region, wherein: if anadditional element is acceptable in the subordinate display region, thenproceeding to step [A.3]; and if no additional element is acceptable inthe subordinate display region, then proceeding to step [A.9]; [A.3]accepting the current element into the subordinate display region, andproceeding to step [A.4]; [A.4] checking whether the current element isalso contained in the superordinate display region, wherein: if thecurrent element is also contained in the superordinate display region,then proceeding to step [A.5]; and if the current element is not alsocontained in the superordinate display region, then proceeding to step[A.6]; [A.5] deleting the current element from the superordinate displayregion, and proceeding to step [A.8]; [A.6] specifying the at least onesuperordinate element as the current element, and proceeding to step[A.7]; [A.7] accepting the at least one superordinate element specifiedin step [A.6] into the superordinate display region if the at least onesuperordinate element is not yet contained in the superordinate displayregion, and proceeding to step [A.8]; [A.8] defining the current elementas the next element to be displayed in the original list, and proceedingto step [A.2]; and [A.9] displaying the superordinate display region andthe subordinate display region.
 13. The navigation system of claim 12,wherein step (C) for displaying the at least one subordinate element andthe respective superordinate element includes the following sub-steps:[C.1] defining the current element as a first element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.2] displaying the current element, and proceeding to step[C.3]; [C.3] checking whether an additional element of the superordinatedisplay region to be displayed is present, wherein: if an additionalelement of the superordinate display region to be displayed is present,then proceeding to step [C.4]; and if no additional element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed is present, then proceedingto step [C.7]; [C.4] checking whether a subsequent element of thesuperordinate display region corresponds to a subsequent element of theoriginal list, wherein: if the subsequent element of the superordinatedisplay region corresponds to the subsequent element of the originallist, then proceeding to step [C.6]; and if the subsequent element ofthe superordinate display region does not correspond to the subsequentelement of the original list, then proceeding to step [C.5]; [C.5]displaying at least one separating line that separates the superordinatedisplay region and the subordinate display region, and proceeding tostep [C.6]; [C.6] defining the current element as the next element ofthe superordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.7] displaying the at least one separating line and proceedingto step [C.8]; and [C.8] displaying the subordinate display region. 14.A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructionsexecutable by a processor, the instructions which when executed causethe processor to perform a method for displaying at least onehierarchically structured list having at least two levels including atleast one hierarchical level of superordinate elements and at least onehierarchical level of subordinate elements, at least one subordinateelement being associated with at least one superordinate element, themethod comprising: (A) determining superordinate elements andsubordinate elements to be displayed; (B) subdividing a display regioninto at least one superordinate display region and at least onesubordinate display region; and (C) displaying at least one subordinateelement in the subordinate display region, and displaying, in thesuperordinate display region, a respective superordinate elementassociated with the displayed at least one subordinate element; whereinstep (A) for determining superordinate elements and subordinate elementsto be displayed includes the following sub-steps: [A.1] defining acurrent element as a last element in an original list to be displayed,and proceeding to step [A.2]; [A.2] checking whether an additionalelement is acceptable in the subordinate display region, wherein: if anadditional element is acceptable in the subordinate display region, thenproceeding to step [A.3]; and if no additional element is acceptable inthe subordinate display region, then proceeding to step [A.9]; [A.3]accepting the current element into the subordinate display region, andproceeding to step [A.4]; [A.4] checking whether the current element isalso contained in the superordinate display region, wherein: if thecurrent element is also contained in the superordinate display region,then proceeding to step [A.5]; and if the current element is not alsocontained in the sup erordinate display region, then proceeding to step[A.6]; [A.5] deleting the current element from the superordinate displayregion, and proceeding to step [A.8]; [A.6] specifying the at least onesuperordinate element as the current element, and proceeding to step[A.7]; [A.7] accepting the at least one superordinate element specifiedin step [A.6] into the superordinate display region if the at least onesuperordinate element is not yet contained in the superordinate displayregion, and proceeding to step [A.8]; [A.8] defining the current elementas the next element to be displayed in the original list, and proceedingto step [A.2]; and [A.9] displaying the superordinate display region andthe subordinate display region.
 15. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 14, wherein the method further comprises providing in thedisplay region at least one of a separating element and a blankingelement configured to be shifted between the superordinate displayregion and the subordinate display region so that all superordinateelements associated with subordinate elements are displayed in thesuperordinate display region.
 16. The computer-readable storage mediumof claim 14, wherein the respective superordinate element associatedwith the displayed at least one subordinate element is displayed in asmaller typeface than the at least one subordinate element.
 17. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein step (C) fordisplaying the at least one subordinate element and the respectivesuperordinate element includes the following sub-steps: [C.1] definingthe current element as a first element of the superordinate displayregion to be displayed, and proceeding to step [C.2]; [C.2] displayingthe current element, and proceeding to step [C.3]; [C.3] checkingwhether an additional element of the superordinate display region to bedisplayed is present, wherein: if an additional element of thesuperordinate display region to be displayed is present, then proceedingto step [C.4]; and if no additional element of the superordinate displayregion to be displayed is present, then proceeding to step [C.7]; [C.4]checking whether a subsequent element of the superordinate displayregion corresponds to a subsequent element of the original list,wherein: if the subsequent element of the superordinate display regioncorresponds to the subsequent element of the original list, thenproceeding to step [C.6]; and if the subsequent element of thesuperordinate display region does not correspond to the subsequentelement of the original list, then proceeding to step [C.5]; [C.5]displaying at least one separating line that separates the superordinatedisplay region and the subordinate display region, and proceeding tostep [C.6]; [C.6] defining the current element as the next element ofthe superordinate display region to be displayed, and proceeding to step[C.2]; [C.7] displaying the at least one separating line and proceedingto step [C.8]; and [C.8] displaying the subordinate display region.